This grant application proposes to improve access to the health science information resources owned by the two branch library at Richmond Memorial Hospital (RMH) by accomplishing two objectives. Both objectives will be accomplished by means of installing a centralized computer system. The first objective is to increase access to the holdings of the two libraries through an online computer catalog. The second objective is to automate the inventory maintenance procedure for the two library collections. Accomplishing these objectives will greatly improve access to the health science information resources at RMH. The successful implementation of this project will also improve the contribution that the Medical and School of Nursing Libraries make toward providing quality patient care at this institution. With respect to the first objective, by replacing the cumbersome card catalogs with a central computer catalog, the libraries will be able to provide more comprehensive and efficient bibliographic control of library holdings. This improvement will help surmount a major problem for the effective delivery of information services to the patrons of both libraries -- that is the libraries are physically separate facilities. Architectural and physical constraints preclude the possibility of ever combining the separate collections into a single library. The implementation of an online public access catalog will improve access to the total information resources for patrons of either library. The computer catalog will also permit more effective use of library staff resources by eliminating the labor intensive routine of maintaining two separate card catalogs. With respect to the second objective, by automating the inventory control system it will be possible to provide timely and accurate reports of library holdings, and maintain an up-to date online catalog for both libraries. The tedious task of manually checking the shelf cards against the shelfholdings will be replaced with a rapid and accurate computer scanning procedure. The result will be greatly reduced time spent in inventorying the collection and keeping the catalog current. Eventually, the automated inventory procedure will be extended to include information resources held by all departments in the Hospital. Sometime in the future it will be possible to conduct a simple and accurate inventory of hospital-wide health science information resources.